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1992 Toronto Blue Jays season
The 1992 Toronto Blue Jays season was the franchise's 16th season of Major League Baseball. Toronto finished first in the American League East for the fourth time with a record of 96 wins and 66 losses, closing the season with an attendance record of 4,028,318.Diamond Dreams: 20 Years of Blue Jays Baseball, Stephen Brunt, p.288, Penguin Books, Toronto was not swept in a single series all year, becoming the first team in 49 years to accomplish the feat.1943 St. Louis Cardinals Baseball-Reference.com. Accessed on June 13, 2014. In the American League Championship Series, the Blue Jays defeated the Oakland Athletics in six games for their first American League pennant in four tries. In the World Series, Toronto faced the Atlanta Braves, who had won their second straight National League pennant, but lost the previous year's World Series. The Blue Jays prevailed in six games, becoming the first non-U.S.-based team to win a World Series. Offseason *October 28, 1991: Cory Snyder was released by the Toronto Blue Jays. *December 12, 1991: Eric Plunk was signed as a Free Agent with the Toronto Blue Jays. *December 18, 1991: The Blue Jays sign pitcher Jack Morris as a free agent.Jack Morris Statistics Baseball-Reference.com *December 19, 1991: Dave Winfield was signed as a Free Agent with the Toronto Blue Jays. *March 27, 1992: Eric Plunk was released by the Toronto Blue Jays. Spring training The Toronto Blue Jays spent their 16th spring training at Dunedin, Florida, while playing their home exhibition games at Dunedin Stadium at Grant Field for the 3rd spring training season. Regular season Despite their post-season success, the Blue Jays had many ups and downs during the regular season. The Jays started off winning the first six games of the regular season and Roberto Alomar was named the AL Player of the Month for the month of April. On August 25, they had lost six of their last seven games and were only two games ahead of the Baltimore Orioles in the standings.Diamond Dreams: 20 Years of Blue Jays Baseball, Stephen Brunt, pp.284-285, Penguin Books, At this point, general manager Pat Gillick decided to acquire a fiery right-hander from the New York Mets named David Cone. The trade resulted in the Jays sending minor league prospect Ryan Thompson and utility infielder Jeff Kent to the Mets.Diamond Dreams: 20 Years of Blue Jays Baseball, Stephen Brunt, p.285, Penguin Books, The deal sent the message that the Blue Jays were committed to winning. Cone would have 4 wins, 3 losses and a 2.55 ERA.Diamond Dreams: 20 Years of Blue Jays Baseball, Stephen Brunt, p.286, Penguin Books, The regular season also marked the end of the road for Dave Stieb, who made his last start for the Blue Jays on August 8 and only lasted three innings.Diamond Dreams: 20 Years of Blue Jays Baseball, Stephen Brunt, p.287, Penguin Books, On September 23, Stieb announced that he was finished for the season. 1992 was Stieb's final season for the Jays before briefly coming out of retirement years later. Four days later, on September 27, Jack Morris would make club history by becoming the first pitcher in franchise history to win 20 games in a season. Morris would have to wait through a two-hour rain delay at Yankee Stadium to get the win. Heading into the last weekend of the season, only the Milwaukee Brewers were still in contention. Led by manager Phil Garner, the Brewers had won 22 of 29 games since August 29. The Brewers trailed the Blue Jays by 2 games, and the Jays were heading into a weekend series vs. the Detroit Tigers. On October 3, Juan Guzmán had a one-hitter through eight innings and Duane Ward picked up the save as the Jays won the game 3-1 and clinched the American League East Division title. Season standings | style="width:50%; vertical-align:top;" | } |- | style="text-align:left;" | May || 27 || 15 || 12 || |- | style="text-align:left;" | June || 26 || 14 || 12 || |- | style="text-align:left;" | July || 26 || 16 || 10 || |- | style="text-align:left;" | August || 30 || 14 || 16 || |- | style="text-align:left;" | September || 27 || 18 || 9 || |- | style="text-align:left;" | October || 3 || 3 || 0 || |- style="font-weight:bold; background:powderblue;" | style="text-align:left;" |Totals || 162 || 96 || 66 || |} |} Record vs. opponents Opening Day starters * Devon White, CF * Roberto Alomar, 2B * Joe Carter, LF * Dave Winfield, DH * John Olerud, 1B * Derek Bell, RF * Kelly Gruber, 3B * Pat Borders, C * Manuel Lee, SS * Jack Morris, P Transactions *April 3, 1992: Shawn Hillegas was selected off waivers by the Toronto Blue Jays from the Cleveland Indians.Shawn Hillegas Statistics Baseball-Reference.com *June 1, 1992: Tim Crabtree was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 2nd round of the 1992 amateur draft. Player signed June 4, 1992. *July 9, 1992: Kelvim Escobar was signed by the Toronto Blue Jays as an amateur free agent. *July 30, 1992: Traded Rob Ducey and Greg Myers to the California Angels for Mark Eichhorn. *August 1, 1992: Terry McGriff was signed as a Free Agent with the Toronto Blue Jays. *August 27, 1992: Traded Jeff Kent and Ryan Thompson to the New York Mets for David Cone.David Cone Statistics Baseball-Reference.com Roster Game Log : |- valign="top" | May: 15–12 (Home: 8–4; Road: 7–8) |- valign="top" | June: 14–12 (Home: 5–4; Road: 9–3) |- valign="top" | July: 16–10 (Home: 12–4; Road: 4–6) |- valign="top" | August: 16–7 (Home: 7–4; Road: 9–3) |- valign="top" | September: 18–9 (Home: 9–5; Road: 9–4) |- valign="top" | October: 3–0 (Home: 3–0; Road: 0–0) |} Player stats Batting Starters by position Note: Pos = position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in Other batters Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in Pitching Starting pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Other pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Relief pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Postseason American League Championship Series The Toronto Blue Jays entered the series with a three-man pitching rotation of Jack Morris, David Cone, and Juan Guzmán.Diamond Dreams: 20 Years of Blue Jays Baseball, Stephen Brunt, p.289, Penguin Books, Game 1 October 7, Skydome Game 2 October 8, Skydome Game 3 October 10, Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Game 4 October 11, Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum The defining moment of the Series came in the ninth inning of Game 4, when Toronto second baseman Roberto Alomar hit a game-tying 2-run home run off Athletics closer Dennis Eckersley. The Blue Jays would eventually win the game 7-6 in 11 innings and take a 3-1 series lead. Game 5 October 12, Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Game 6 October 14, Skydome With their victory in game 6, the 1992 Blue Jays became the first non-American-based team to go to the World Series. World Series Game 1 October 17, 1992, at Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta Game 2 October 18, 1992, at Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta Game 3 October 20, 1992, at SkyDome in Toronto Game 4 October 21, 1992, at SkyDome in Toronto Game 5 October 22, 1992, at SkyDome in Toronto Game 6 October 24, 1992, at Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta Postseason Game Log : |- valign="top" | World Series: 4–2 |} Award winners Awards The 1992 Toronto Blue Jays were inducted into the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame in 2001. 63rd MLB All-Star Game Infielders Outfielders Pitchers Farm system LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Myrtle Beach Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 2nd and 3rd editions. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997 and 2007 References External links *1992 Toronto Blue Jays at Baseball Reference *1992 Toronto Blue Jays at Baseball Almanac *1992 WS at Baseball Reference Category:Toronto Blue Jays seasons Category:American League East champion seasons Category:American League champion seasons Category:World Series champion seasons Toronto Blue Jays season Toronto Category:1992 in Ontario